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Lukashenko's Secret Bases: Mapping Military Sites In Belarus

September 10, 2025
By Andrei Shauliuha (RFE/RL's Belarus Service), Kyrylo Ovsianyi (“Schemes,” RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service), Delfi, and Eesti Ekspress
Produced By Wojtek Grojec and Ivan Gutterman
Illustration By Juan Carlos Herrera Martinez

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Belarus began actively expanding its military infrastructure. Entirely new military bases and airfields have appeared in Belarus, and existing ones are being modernized. Using satellite imagery, RFE/RL's Belarus Service shows how the country’s military sites have changed ahead of this year’s Zapad-2025 exercises with Russia -- the first time the joint drills are being conducted since the invasion.

MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors
Satellite imagery: Planet Labs